Chapter 3

The moment Leon opened the door he felt like the air had been stolen from him and he nearly fell over. He watched in that stunned silence as she introduced herself, same as she did the first day they met, this time he eagerly waited for her eyes to reach his though.

As soon as her name left her lips he whispered. "Violet..."

She was so happy to see him, after all of this time without a letter. She looked him over as they both stood there in silence. He looks disheveled in his wrinkled white shirt and baggy khaki pants. His left leg and his right arm are both in casts. His dark hair is so much shorter than the last time she saw him and his eyes look heavy and bruised. He looked like he had lost muscle mass and the slight smile on his lips looks like it might be hurting the cracks that are still healing.

Before she could speak he did. "I never imagined... is it really you Violet?"

She felt an urge to move closer to him, but she restrained herself. "Leon. You're hurt..."

He lightly chuckled. "I would carry your bag but..." he leaned against the wall and used his crutch to hold the door open so she could shuffle in to the quaint little house.

She didn't enter. She was still too stunned. "Leon— what happened?"

He quietly huffed before speaking. "Come inside. I need to sit down."

She picked up her case and was lead to a small living room. The furniture was simple, a beige couch with matching loveseat and armchair facing an unlit fireplace. The windows were open, allowing the wind cool the small space. There are books piled near the couch and the way the cushions are indented it was clear to violet that this is where he spends most of his time. In front of the armchair was a small table, just big enough for her typewriter and a glass of water.

He was carefully lowering himself down on to the couch, she could see how uncomfortable he was as he held his breath before finally landing on the couch. Once he regained his breath he looked up at her with a small smile. "I never imagined it would be you when I decided to hire a doll. What kind of odds do you think those are?"

She sat down in the chair and began to pull her type writer out. She though over his questions and added to the question. "This was going to be my last assignment... so what are the odds?"

He looked confused. "Your last assignment? Why? Did something happen?"

She clenched her metal fists into her skirts. "Nothing. It's not important now. I'll return to my work after we are finished here. Speaking of, what may I assist you with Mr. Stephanotis?" Her hands relaxed back on her lap.

"Oh, um—" he looked up at the ceiling, trying to push the blush down his throat so she would see. When he was sure it had passed he looked back to her. "I have a lot of letters to respond to, and send. I only recently got out of the hospital, and one of my team member's family was generous enough to let me stay here in one of their summer homes while I recover. None of my friends have heard from me for awhile—"

"I'm aware." She interrupted. That's when he noticed her expression. She looks upset and while it concerned him that he was the cause, he could help but be a bit fascinated. He'd never seen her get this emotional when they worked together over a year ago.

He studied her for a moment. There was something softer about her somehow. When he read her first letter he saw the water marks and assumed it was from weather during its travels to him. Now he was wondering, were those tears she shed after writing about her Major?

She deserves an explanation. He took a deep breath, wincing at how his ribs hurt before speaking. "We didn't make it to the top. We got hit by an avalanche. I don't know how long I was up there before we were recovered. I was in a coma for awhile—" he bit his lip as he tried to decide how much to tell her. He knew she wouldn't be bothered by gory details, those weren't what he was having a hard time sharing. The moment he woke from his coma, the only thing he could remember was her. Her face, her voice, the way her eyes caught the light of the comet that night. It didn't take long for the rest of his memories return to him, but it was her that his mind held on to the hardest.

"I see." Her expression relaxed back into her usual expressionless state that he found oddly comforting.

"Violet—" there it was again, that damned weed he couldn't remove. He wondered to himself how it had grown so much after being apart for so long. That weed was squeezing his heart, telling him to tell her about what he experienced after the coma. "You've just finished traveling, we can start work tomorrow."

She blinked. She was tired from traveling, the adrenaline from seeing him so suddenly had masked her exhaustion. "Okay." Her eyes shifted from him to the rest of the room as she spoke in a somewhat distracted manor. "How severe are your injuries?"

"Some of them are worse than others. My arm and ribs should be done healing in a couple of days. They had to release pressure on my brain, which is why my hair is gone." He sounds more bitter about the hair than the brain surgery. "My knee was shattered, but the reconstruction they did was miraculous. It won't be too long before I will be back out there." His determined smile irritated Violet in this moment.

Her head dipped and her words came out just above a whisper. "You're going to go back?"

He shifted, he could feel her displeasure. "I won't be returning to that peak, not until I've learned more and have a more experienced team. But yes, when I'm healed I'm heading back out. When I left the observatory to do this I knew it would be dangerous, I even said I could die."

Her face lifted but her eyebrows had dropped again. She stood up from her seat. "I'm tired from traveling. Is there somewhere I can rest?"

He started to raise himself up and upon seeing him struggle she came to his side and slide on metal arm under his and around his back and helped him to a stand. The moment they touched he felt like a gust of wind blew through him. The moment she left his side, placing handing him his crutches, he ached for her to return.

"There's a spare room already set up at the end of the hall just before the kitchen. The wash room is the room before it and my room is before that... although I usually end up falling asleep on the couch." He leads her back to her room as he speaks.

After setting her case down she turned to the door where Leon was still standing. "Thank you. Once I've rested we should start the work."